


My Promise to You

by MoonMoment



Series: Tragedy Returns [2]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Character Death, Chicanne shipping in this one, F/F, F/M, Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, M/M, Other, Post-Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, Pre-Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, and Glam Fronty mentions I guess?, but yeah definitely a little bit of shipping later on, tw blood, tw child death mention, tw emetophobia mention, tw injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:36:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonMoment/pseuds/MoonMoment
Summary: A second chance, strange new allies, and even stranger enemies. The Glamrocks find themselves thrown into a crazy world given the task of protecting a young child, and preventing tragedy from falling upon Hurricane once again. A strange new villain, one they neither know or understand, stands in their way, but through determination and will, the quartet hopes to be victoriousREAD AFTER AS IT OVERTAKES ME
Series: Tragedy Returns [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154621
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Gray Skies Over Hurricane

**Author's Note:**

> tw for suicide mention, blood, injury mentions, emetophobia and death mentions

It had been a week since the incident, but the memories were still fresh for Vanessa. Like a wound that couldn’t close or heal, the memories of what she saw that day plagued her mind, never letting her have a moment's rest. It was exhausting to say the least, leaving her drained and miserable. She closed her eyes, thinking about that morning once more, trying to process it all. 

She remembered the wailing and sirens the most. Getting out of her car to see the place crawling with police officers, paramedics rushing in and out of the building. She was confused and scared, not understanding what was going on. Who was hurt, what had happened here? None of the officers gave her an answer, simply looking to the ground with a grim expression, like they had seen something ghastly. She only got her answers once she drew closer to the curb, seeing the situation more clearly now. The front door was shattered, and covered in someone’s blood. She figured it must have been a break in gone wrong, someone trying to get something from Fazbear Ent and getting harmed in the process. But seeing her friends sitting on the curb told her it must be far worse. It was a horrible and worrying sight. James and Mikhail sat around Nora, hugging her tightly and trying to console her. They looked drained and defeated, their eyes hollow and devoid of expression. Their life and joy were killed, replaced with a harrowing feeling. Neither of them could look anyone in the eye, lowering their gaze as they tried to console their friend. A paramedic was on standby, keeping an eye on the group as they got themselves together. 

Nora was in a far worse state. She was entirely a wreck, skin pale and clammy, her face contorted in a harrowing expression, a pool of vomit in front of her, and her body shaking like a leaf. She held her hands out in front of her, shaking and sobbing as she looked down at the blood covering them. There was blood everywhere on her- shirt, pants, and hands with splatters upon them. She was trying to get it off with a rag the paramedic gave her, furiously scrubbing at her hands only to make it spread further. She was panicking, growing more and more upset, and Vanessa felt herself grow fearful. She ran over to her, trying her best to console her and ask what was happening. She put her hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye and speaking softly, trying to get an answer out of her. Nora couldn’t get a single word out, only whimpers and sobs. She had seen something no person should ever have to witness, that was for sure. She just tried to be there for Nora, not understanding what was going on, but wanting to be there for her regardless. Vanessa tried to scan James and Mikhail's expressions, trying to get any information out of them. The pair simply looked away from her, obviously too pained to talk about what they had seen and heard.

Then she saw him, or what was left of him now. Silently, a pair of medics rolled out a stretcher containing a large black body bag. The groups refused to look at each other in the eye, simply falling silent without another word. Vanessa felt her fear growing. She turned to Mikhail and spoke softly, her voice beginning to warble, “Who is that..?”

Mikhail gave her a sorrowful look, sighing and turning away, unable to even say it. He pushed his glasses up his face, rubbing his glossy eyes with his hand. It wasn’t much, but that was enough for Vanessa to know, to understand who it was. She could tell just by the expressions and by knowing what had unfolded this week that it was him. She dropped down onto the pavement on her knees, her body feeling numb and foreign to her. She couldn’t even begin to process this. It couldn’t be real, that couldn’t be him. She refused to believe it. She never wanted to lose him, and now he was gone. She didn’t understand. 

Mikhail pulled her in tight, rubbing her back to try and comfort her. Vanessa didn’t even recognize there were tears rolling down her face, her expression devoid and hollow. She couldn’t do anything but sit there, not able to understand, not knowing what to do. What could she do?

She watched the ambulance pull away, the sirens turned off, signalling death. Officers stuck around to try and talk to them, but Vanessa couldn’t muster the strength to speak. She didn’t even know what to say.

Now, she sat in her car, parked out front of Lori’s home. She looked at the bouquet on the seat next to her, hoping she would think of it as an appropriate gift for condolences. It was small, but she wanted to do something. She knew Lori had been suffering greatly through this, unable to process it all. She didn’t even know about Jeremy’s situation, something Vanessa was certain caused this. To Lori, this must have made no sense at all. It hardly made sense to herself and she knew what was happening with Jeremy all that time.

She stepped out of her car, holding the bouquet in her hands, and shivered at the cold wind that whipped at her. Ever since the incident Hurricane felt much colder, much more dreary. Rain was much more common, and the wind was often harsh. It was as if the sky itself was pouring out it’s sorrow for the family. She gently knocked on the door, her heart tightening in anxiousness. She waited for a few moments, finally hearing the clicking of the front door. Lori stepped out into the doorway, looking absolutely horrible. She looked weary, dark bags under her glossy eyes. She was completely numb to the world, feeling drained and exhausted. Her curls were an absolute mess, looking as if she hadn’t brushed it out in days now. She was always dressed nicely for as long as Vanessa knew her, but now she just wore simple, baggy clothes, not wearing any jewelry or makeup. She hardly had the energy to even function anymore, and makeup wasn’t something she could muster strength for now. Vanessa felt horrible just seeing how this was affecting her. 

The pair didn’t even say a word. They simply melted into each other, holding the other close and tight. Vanessa felt Lori shake, quiet sobs coming from her. She squeezed her a little tighter, rubbing her back and trying to console the woman. It took some time before she could get her bearings, pulling away from Vanessa and taking the bouquet. She sniffled, wiping her face, “These are beautiful… thank you…” she motioned inside the door, taking a deep, shuddery, breath, “Come inside… I’ve wanted to talk..” 

Vanessa nodded silently, stepping into the living room. The coffee table was piled high with gifts, flowers, and letters, all from family, friends, and even a basket from Fazbear Ent. She scowled at that specific one, feeling it to be disingenuous in nature. The company didn’t care about Jeremy until it got to this point, and it was likely damage control at best, something especially obvious when she saw the contents. Nothing personalized or anything that could help; just random, cheap items thrown together last minute. The others all had so much care put into them- care products for Lori and Greg, money to help them out, things the two enjoyed, prepared food for the next week, toys and comfort items for Greg, anything they could ever want. Vanessa at least got comfort in knowing the pair were well taken care of after all of this. She knew they needed the support.

She sat down on the couch and spoke softly, “I wasn’t sure what you two needed right now, so let me know what I can do or get to help. I want to be there for you both…” Lori nodded, sighing, “I will… thank you so much…” she put her head in her hand, looking off to the side, “I don’t even know what to do… It was so much at once and I’m still trying to process that morning... I-I just woke up and there’s a coroner at my door and-” she had to stop, feeling herself getting choked up. Vanessa moved in closer, hugging onto her. Lori let herself cry, knowing she couldn’t hold it back any longer, “They won’t even let me see him right now… What happened, how bad was it that I can’t even go say goodbye?” she cried out.

Vanessa felt her stomach tighten as she remembered what Mikhail told her. The scene was macabre and absolutely brutal. The blood on the floor, his FACE on the floor, his body broken and mutilated laying back in that chair. She wasn’t even the one to see it and she felt sick just imagining what it looked like. She couldn’t imagine what Nora must have felt walking in to see that.There was no explanation for it, no way she could understand it. And Lori was far too much of a wreck to learn the truth now. Vanessa knew she couldn’t handle it, the truth would kill her.. She bit her lip, trying to think of something, “I don’t know, Lori… I can’t understand it either…” she wracked her brain for anything to say, anything to help Lori through this, but nothing she could think of was good enough to comfort her, “But... I’m here for you and Greg right now…” She stopped, looking towards the hall to the closed door with little cartoon characters on it. She looked back at Lori with a sympathetic expression, “Speaking of him, how’s he handling all of this?”

Lori wiped her eyes, looking down to the floor, “I haven’t told Gregory yet… He knows something is wrong, but I don’t know how to explain it to him… He’s so little, I can’t imagine how he’ll react to it… I don’t want him to feel like this..” she lamented, “He’s been seeing everyone come in and out, the crying, the gifts, people acting extra nice, everything… But he doesn’t know why..”

Vanessa spoke in a soft yet stern tone, “Lori, you need to tell him.. If you don’t, it’s just going to make him scared and worried. The longer you wait, the worse it’s going to get…” she paused for a moment and thought, “And he deserves to know what happened to his father… for his sake, he needs to know. Even if it’s just watered down and simple, he needs to know Jeremy is gone. If you lie to him or don’t tell him, he’ll just be more upset...”

Lori sat silently for a moment, then nodding in agreement. She knew Vanessa was right, as much as she didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want any of this to happen in the first place. She just wished things could be normal again, that this was all a nightmare. That she would wake up to Gregory and Jeremy video calling her during breakfast, talking about all they had done during the week. She was going to miss that so much.

The pair were silent for a while, just holding onto each other and grieving in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to the other now. They both had known Jeremy for over a decade, being with him through the good and the bad throughout life. He was there every step of the way in both of their lives. Now, someone they had loved and cared for was gone forever. It was unfathomable. Lori sat up, wringing her hands nervously and looked at Vanessa, “My family isn’t taking this well either… They really care about him and still think of him as family, even though we weren’t together for the past few months. Once family, always family they say...” she looked bitter and solemn, “And now, another person in our family died because of this company… They’re so angry right now. We’ve been getting a lawsuit together over it all, in both his and Gabriels memories. They deserve to be avenged.” 

She looked at Vanessa with a determined expression, “They’re trying to say it was suicide. Someone tried to say it was my fault because of our breakup, even. I-I don’t even know how they came to that… but I know it was something with this company. Jeremy would never do that, and the details just don’t make sense! I need to find out what really happened, to him and my uncle. I need to know what the truth is.” she scowled and looked away, “I hate knowing that this is going to become a part of those bullshit conspiracy theories… with the hauntings, and all. When that developer made those games our family got harassed for months over it once they found out we were Uncle Gabriel's family. Same with the others. I don’t want that to happen again…” 

Vanessa bit her lip, feeling more guilty for getting involved in those conspiracy forums over the years. She never realized what it was like to be a part of the friends and family affected, and felt absolutely horrible for the Flores’s and McConner’s. The last thing she wanted was for this to happen again and for the forums to blow up. She made a mental note to leave those servers later on. She didn’t want anything to do with them anymore, not after this.

Lori continued on, “My parents are coming over later… They’re trying to help me through this, and hopefully they can help with Gregory… My father knows how to deal with this the most, especially with the grief part of it all… I want him to be able to talk to Greg about this, and be able to get him to understand.” She looked to Vanessa solemnly, “I just wish it would have never come to this…” 

Vanessa nodded, “Me too… I hope talking to him goes well and I hope everything gets sorted out. A-and I don’t know what this was or how it happened, but I know it was something to do with this company,” it was a bit of a white lie, as she knew what was happening, but she continued on anyways, “We’ll get through this together, Lori… Just let me know what you need…” 

Lori smiled for the first time in days, looking weak and harrowed, “Thank you… and remember that we’re also here for YOU.” she took her hand and gently squeezed it, “This has to be hard on you too.. I know you’ve always been best friends…” Vanessa nodded, feeling tears come to her own eyes. She blinked them away and took a deep breath, “Thank you... “ she looked down at her phone, checking the time and scowling at it, “Hey, I have to go now, but I’m glad I got to check in on you at least. Just to see that you were okay.”

Lori nodded in understanding, “And I appreciate it so much…” she smiled just a tiny bit, “You’re always welcome here, Vanessa, remember that. Just let me know when and I’ll have you over, I promise.” 

The two made their way towards the door, hugging and saying their final goodbyes. Vanessa turned towards her car, just to get stopped once more, “Vanessa, one more thing…” Lori called out. She bit her lip, dreading even saying the next words, “You… you’re coming to the funeral, right?” 

Vanessa stopped in her tracks, just now realizing for the first time that there would be one. The reality of it all still hadn’t set in yet, that was for sure. She knew he was gone, but the concept of a funeral had completely slipped her mind. She took a moment to process the sentence before she turned back to Lori, “Of course, Lori…” she whispered. 

Lori pulled a tiny card from her pocket, smiling down at it with longing. She touched a finger to the picture on it and sighed, turning back towards her, “Here… this has all the info on it. Things may change, but I’ll be sure to let you know.” 

Vanessa took it, fumbling with the card in her hand, “Thanks… I’ll see you soon, then. Tell Greg I said hi.” Lori nodded, watching her walk to the car before she closed her door. She sat there for a moment, leaning her head against the wood door. She closed her eyes, trying to keep herself calm and quiet. She tried to convince herself she could get through this, feeling the tight feeling in her chest subsiding as she began to believe it. She turned around, jumping a bit at what was behind her. Gregory stood in the middle of the room, looking scared and worried as he held onto Chips. He looked to her nervously and spoke, “Mama.... what happened?”

She didn’t know what to say, what to do. She stared down at the little boy, who looked back up at her with worry. She sat down on the floor in front of him, sighing and motioned him to come closer. She sat him on her lap and spoke softly, “I think it’s time I told you the truth…”

XX

Vanessa stared at the little card Lorianne gave her. It was the thing that finally made it feel real after all this time. It was beautifully made, a picture of Jeremy with Lori and Greg all together on the front and some kind words and information about the funeral on the back. She couldn’t bear to read it, only being able to look at the photo. She stared at the smiling man on the front, a man clueless as to what his life would lead to and what would become of him and his family. It broke her heart that such a happy and loving person was gone, someone she was going to miss very much. She hugged it close to her chest, then placed it carefully into the clip on her mirror for safekeeping. 

She sat back in her seat, closing her eyes and tilting her head back, “I’m so sorry, Jeremy... “ she lamented. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow her fault, somehow able to be blamed on her. The absolute guilt she felt by not believing him, by not helping him until it was too late, was overtaking her. She wanted to cry remembering the last time she saw him. She felt like a coward for running away when she needed him most, at his most vulnerable. But now he was dead and there was nothing she could do. All she could do now was move forward with her life, trying her best to function from now on.

She composed herself enough to be able to drive, turning her key and pulling away from Lori’s house. She put the window down, as the car was getting too stuffy for her liking, and felt the wind on her face. The chill of it froze the tears on her cheeks, but she didn’t mind. It was the least of her worries now. Just moments later, her phone began to ring, the same irritating ringtone playing that she dreaded. She answered begrudgingly, hearing an awfully perky voice on the other end.

“Hey Vanessa! Just wondering when you were going to be in today. Nora’s turn beta testing ended and we need you to come in and finish up her work. Y’know, before the new coding company comes in.” he tsked, “We’re officially leaving the project after this week, y’know.” Mikhail said, his tone aloof and perky. It was as if he was completely unaffected by all of this now.

Vanessa stayed quiet in disbelief. She gripped her steering wheel tightly, feeling anger rise up in her, “Mikhail are you being serious right now?” she hissed, “You made Nora go into that room and beta test after she was the one to find Jeremy like that in the first place?1 What the hell is wrong with you, you prick!” she yelled. 

“Take it easy Nessa, it’s all okay, I promise. I didn’t mean any harm in it. I just-”

“No, you shut up.” she hissed, “First of all, you don’t get to call me Nessa! You know damn well only Jeremy called me that. Second of all, what’s with this tone? Do you even care that he’s dead, Mikhail?” she demanded. Her voice broke a bit, the anger and sorrow completely taking over her tone.

Mikhail scoffed, trying to defend himself, “I’m trying, Vanessa. You know best that this has been hard. You KNOW I’m upset over this. But things have to still go on, we all need to move on at some point, and you know that.” he sighed, feeling his tension rising, “Listen. You come in and beta test for one day. After that, we’ll leave everything else to this new team coming in. For the rest of the week, just work on notes and the package art with James and the others. After that you can go on to your new job and we’ll leave this all behind us. Do you understand?”

Vanessa scowled, knowing she couldn’t say no. Mikhail was still her boss, which meant she needed to listen, even if she didn’t want to. But beta testing again, after knowing how it ended for Jeremy, scared her. She made a mental note to check on Nora to make sure she hadn’t come across the demon, just in case anything were to happen. She promised herself she wouldn’t allow a repeat of what happened to Jeremy. Even besides that, she knew she must be having a hard time now after dealing with all of this.

Mikhail spoke again, sounding impatient, “Vanessa, are you there?”

She responded with seething contempt, “Give me 20 minutes. I’ll get your damn game finished for you.” she hung up without so much as a goodbye, not thinking he even deserved one. Her blood boiled thinking about what he was saying. He spoke as if a dear friend hadn’t just died in such a traumatic way, and as if he didn’t force Nora of all people to go back there after what happened. She was angry beyond belief at him, unable to control her anger.

Then there was the deep harrowing fear. She knew that by the way things had happened, Malhare was back in the system for sure, waiting impatiently for a new victim to become his host. If Nora was testing, she could very well have been affected by him. It scared her to think of that being the case. Nora wasn’t in the state to handle this now, and she didn’t want her to be tormented by Malhare, especially after seeing what it did to Jeremy. She promised herself she would call Nora later, to see if she was okay and if she knew anything about the demon. She needed to make sure this town was safe, and that her remaining friends were as well.

XX   
  


Vanessa managed to ignore everyone on the way up, not wanting to talk about the incident or anything. Mikhail was angry that she passed by without so much as a word, but she didn’t care about him right now. She dreaded even being here, and hated that she needed to for this new job. She had already tried to quit the Pizzaplex position, but her new bosses made it clear that she couldn’t. Served her right for signing a one year contract. She figured they had to make that a thing given their history with their security position, but it didn’t serve her any favors now.

She made her way to the old office- room 213. She put her hand on the doorknob, feeling a chill run through her spine. She didn’t feel ready to go back in yet, remembering seeing the room just after it all had happened. It was a harrowing and disgusting sight, one she didn’t want to remember. The sight was just too much to bear. She took a deep breath and opened the door, averting her eyes from looking at the full room. 

After she felt safe enough to look up, she was surprised at her surroundings. It was much different than before. The room only had the desk and the computer in the back, all of the other furniture gone. She was glad for that in a way, never wanting to see another one of those paper cutters again. She hoped they destroyed it. It looked empty though, completely devoid of the life Jeremy had brought to the room. The artwork, furniture, everything he had was gone. It was completely gutted, most likely given back to Jeremy’s family or stored away somewhere.. She took notice that even the carpet had been removed, most likely due to the abhorrent amount of blood that had soaked it. She winced seeing that even the concrete below had a brownish-red tint to it. It was disgusting.

She reluctantly sat down in the office chair, her heart beating into her throat as the memories of that day came back to her. She anxiously awaited the computer turning on, refusing to even look at the screen until she needed to. Oh how she hated this room, this game. She just wanted to go home, to curl up and cry, but she couldn’t. Not now. 

Help Wanted- the title flashed onto her screen; the titular classic characters standing behind the logo. She scowled at it, feeling absolutely bitter looking at the creatures. The opening was Jeremy’s creation, something she knew he was so proud of modeling, and now it was something that brought her misery. She couldn’t even look at it without tearing up. She shook her head and picked up the VR headset, her hands shaking. What was going to happen when she put it on? Would anything even happen? She didn’t know, and wasn’t sure she even wanted to. 

Vanessa simply just slipped it over her eyes, closing them tightly as she anticipated what was to come next. She froze up, tensing as she expected the worst. After a few moments her eyes fluttered open, scanning the room around her. But whatever was in front of her was not the game, and she knew something sinister was afoot.


	2. Princess Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This new place is strange... and completely unrecognizable to Vanessa. She needs to find her way out quickly, and find out why she is here.... and who exactly is behind it all.

Whatever this game was, it certainly wasn’t Help Wanted. Vanessa hadn’t seen anything like it before. This wasn’t anything the team had made, that was for sure. But oh, was it far more interesting. It was a dark, dimly lit castle that sprawled out for what seemed like forever, nothing like the tacky showroom of the hub. The floor was cracked and covered in dirt and moss, the only other thing visible being a tattered red carpet splayed across the marble floor. It was strange and completely unfamiliar to her. She wished she knew where she was, or what was going on. She couldn’t see most of her surroundings, the only light coming from tiny sconces in the corners, and herself.

Upon noticing that glow, she finally looked down at her body, seeing what a difference it was. She could hardly even recognize herself in this state, though it wasn’t exactly a bad change. She was dressed in a glittering, golden dress that flowed to her ankles, white silk gloves covering her hands and reaching to her elbows. Her blonde curls looked as if they were moving in slow motion, almost floating around her in an ethereal manner. Her body glowed with a golden haze and she carried a beautiful gilded lamp with a flickering flame. She looked like a princess, or even a goddess of some sort. It made her absolutely happy. She grinned at herself and spun, feeling absolutely beautiful, the fear and concern of her situation escaping her in that moment.

It all felt so real, as if she was truly there in the castle. The warm air of the HQ building was replaced with a chilling wind that made her shiver. The normal noises of the office around her were entirely blocked out, replaced with the echoing of dripping of water and incoherent scuttling noises from across the room. The area smelled musty and sour, unlike the stale air of the building. It was feeling so real she was beginning to worry that it actually was. She remembered what Jeremy had once said, about getting trapped in the game through the VR set. Being put into a little game for that demon’s enjoyment to mess with them before he went through with a merge. She prayed hard that it wasn’t happening to her. But there was only one way to find out, one way to know if this was just some strange game she was given to play, or if it was something much more sinister.

With a nervous pit in her stomach, she lifted her hands to her face in anticipation. She hoped for them to come in contact with the smooth, cold metal of the headset, but only felt her soft skin and eyelashes. Her breath hitched, heart fluttering quickly in fear. She tried again, pressing deeper and deeper onto her face hoping it would give her a different result. But it was always the same. Whatever the castle was, wherever it was, she was truly there now. The office no longer existed here.

Vanessa remembered then what happened to Jeremy. He was trapped in the game, unable to leave until he came in contact with that demon. He was only let out once he was approached by Malhare. What if it was happening again, what if it was after her now? She felt her throat getting choked up, her body trembling and shaking with a new sense of adrenaline. She tried not to freak out, instead trying to rationalize and make sense of her surroundings, as hard as that was. There must be a way out, a way to get to an end. A way that didn’t end up the way it did for her friend. This was just a video game, and every game had objectives and endings. She just needed to figure out what they were. She looked at the lamp in her hand and decided that this was something she needed to use, an item that aided her in some way. She just needed to figure out how.

Vanessa walked around carefully, making sure there were no holes in the floor beneath her. She saw that it had fallen through in multiple places, soft whispery voices being heard from the dark pits beneath, calling out to her in a language she couldn’t understand. It gave her chills. She continued on until she came to a simple altar that came up to her elbows. It had a bowl with a wick and oil in it, sitting upon a decorative golden stand. She knew this must be it. She carefully took the candle from the lamp and lit the altar, squinting as the room grew brighter with it’s new glow. The oil caught flame immediately, causing her to jump back as the flame shot out, nearly touching her face. But now, she could see the room more clearly, seeing shadows that looked like more altars scattered throughout it. She smirked to herself, proud that she had figured out the puzzle on her first try. This was going to make this much easier. Carefully, she shuffled over to them, lighting each individual one as she went along. It felt like the room had gone on forever, an undetermined amount of altars and all of them being so far away from each other. But she needed to keep pushing forward, as annoying as that was. 

After six were lit, a chime echoed throughout the room and a groaning creak could be heard from the end. Vanessa felt herself tense up as the hall shook, tiny pieces of rubble falling down onto her. She whipped her head around to the left, seeing an enormous pair of gilded red doors swing open, revealing yet another room. She had completed the puzzle now.

She smiled to herself, looking down at the flickering lamp in hand, “I think I got this…”

The next room wasn’t much different, the only main change she noticed being the holes in the floor becoming bigger and more widespread, this area being in more disarray. If this pattern of destruction grew worse, she feared the next room may be untraversable. She felt chills run down her back as she heard the whispers and groans coming from the pits grow louder and louder. She had no way to know if they were malicious or not, and simply hoped she wouldn’t find out the hard way. She found the altars here with relative ease, especially since she knew to look for them, lighting them without issue. But everytime she brought the candle down, she heard scurrying noises, and the sounds of the pits growing louder. Whatever she was in here with was angry at her for lighting the way, warning her to cease doing so. Her heart beat fast as she realized they were growing more and more malicious, it now obvious to her that they were her enemies in this strange place. She needed to work faster and get out. 

She got to the last altar, hoping that she would hear that chime and the creaking of the door as soon as it caught fire. She held her breath, waiting for the sound, but nothing came from the door. It confused her. She lit the last altar, the door should have moved. Yet, there was nothing. She instead heard rumbling noise behind her, and turned her head to see what the source of it was. From the floor, a red chest lifted from the depths, a shining glow surrounding it. She figured that this was the next step she needed to take, the room probably being a puzzle of sorts. But as soon as she began to make way towards it, high pitched screeching noises made her stop in her tracks. She yelped as she felt something cold and slimy smack against her leg, looking down to see ghastly rabbit-like demons emerge from the pits. They clawed their way out, looking up at her with grim glee, seeing her as their next victim. 

The rabbits were ghastly creatures. They looked as if they were made of tar, having white orbs of light for eyes and two large ears protruding from their heads. They crawled and made their way towards her while they screeched and vocalized, gaining speed quickly. Vanessa grabbed a hold of her dress, keeping the hem of the skirt out of the creatures’ reach, and ran off. 

She needed to find a way to get to that chest and avoid the creatures. She knew what they would do to her if they got a hold on her again, knowing they would drag her down into the pits they came from. Her mind raced with all sorts of horrible thoughts. Could she die here? Would that kill her? Or would they bring her to Him? No, she couldn’t think about that. She needed to clear her mind, to figure out how to get around these creatures. She figured the best way to do so was a loop around, something she remembered doing while playing games. If enemies just followed in a beeline, she could get them all to get far from the chest, making it easier to grab whatever was inside. That’s when it clicked for her, “This is just a game…” she whispered to herself, “It’s just a stupid game!” 

She nodded resolutely and looked behind her, making sure the creatures were all following behind. Clawed hands reached out at her, the rabbits screeching in anger as Vanessa remained just out of reach. She ran around the sides of the room, making sure there was no debris or pits by her feet as she made her way around, not wanting to risk falling. The rabbits all were now close behind, perfect for her in the moment.

Vanessa looked towards the chest, the area around it empty and devoid of the creatures. She ran faster, getting to it before the creatures could catch up. Bits of the loose fabric flowing from her dress snagged, as the creatures just barely got a hold on her. Thankfully, she was able to pull away, staying out of their grasp. She collapsed to the ground in front of the chest, knees skidding on the floor, breathing heavily from all of that running. Quickly, she opened it to find a key, grabbing it and looking towards the door. It was a bit counteractive to keep a key in a chest, but she didn’t have time to think about that now. She looked up to see the creatures quickly drawing in closer, reaching out for her in preparation to attack. Their faces grew into wide, ugly smiles as they clammored over, growing excited with every passing moment. They were so close, just about to reach their prey. Vanessa huffed, grabbing the hem of her dress and running for the door. The creatures formed into a tidal wave of tar, reaching out for her and screaming louder and louder with every step she took, desperate to catch her. 

Vanessa finally reached the door, breathing heavily and feeling her body buzz from adrenaline. Her hand shook as she shoved the key into the door, her heart jumping as she missed the keyhole over and over. Finally it went through, letting her open it just enough to slip through. She slammed it behind her right as the creatures reached the door. She slammed her body against it as she struggled to lock the door again, feeling the tar pool from underneath it, trying to get to her still. 

Vanessa slowly backed away, feeling her body slowly come down from that rush as she watched the door rattle and shake from the creatures. They were absolutely desperate to reach her, crying in anger and disappointment. The activity slowly died down, the creatures seemingly giving up hope and no longer wanting to chase her. Vanessa dropped down to the ground, her legs feeling weak from exertion, and sighed. She looked at the lantern in her hands and thought about the current objectives. As she ran her hands over the golden metal work holding it together, she thought about where she was and tried to figure out what was truly going on. No matter what, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was in danger now, that whatever she did something…. Or someone, lurked around the corner. Someone who wanted to hurt her. She needed to get out of here, and she hoped the altars were leading her in the right direction. 

She looked behind her, seeing this room was much different than the last two. It was a tower; the only noticeable thing here being a spiral staircase going up the middle of the room. It was impossible to see where it ended, the lighting of the room dying out before it could reach the top. She furrowed her brow and took a deep breath, realizing she had her work put out for her. If avoiding pitfalls on the ground wasn’t enough of a challenge, avoiding them that high up would be the ultimate test.

  
Step by step, she slowly made her way up the staircase. Based on the state of disrepair everywhere else, Vanessa half expected the stairs to crumble the moment she placed her foot down, sending her crashing to the ground. With her breath hitched she slowly made her way further and further, anxiety taking hold of her everytime she put her foot down. She just tried not to look down or think of the creatures behind the door down there. For all she knew there could be more hidden in the darkness of the tower, or the door could break down and release them upon her. It was a terrifying thought, one that motivated her to keep on walking faster. 

At the top, a simple archway leading out of the tower stood at it’s lonesome, two lit sconces on either side. It didn’t lead to a room, however, but a garden instead. Vanessa made her way outside, admiring the night sky and the beauty of the stone castle from the outside. It was much more calming than the rest of the area, old fountains flowing and colorful flowers creeping over the stone walls enclosing the area. Once upon a time this would have been an absolutely beautiful garden, if only someone was here to take care of it. It looked as if no one had been keeping up with the place in decades, the flora and fauna completely taking hold of the walls and structures, weathering the stone away. But none of that was close to the most interesting thing in the area. It was the landmarks sitting in front of her. 

Two rows of elaborate headstones, each containing four, all with small basin-like altars in front of them sat neatly in front of her. In the middle of it all stood a large grave with a benevolent, stone angel looking over everything with their arms wide open. This was a cemetery, a small one to be sure, but a sacred place even still. A wave of solemn emotion fell over her as she took it all in. She needed to be as respectful as possible now, honoring whoever laid here. 

She stepped softly over to the grave closest to her, kneeling down in front of it carefully. There were words on the headstone, words she couldn’t make out due to the condition of it. After she moved some moss and debris from its face, she could just barely make out a name and date- Gabriel S. Flores, 1979-1985.

Vanessa felt her heart sink, recognizing the name immediately. Lori’s uncle, a missing piece of her family, here laying in front of her. This was his resting place. She touched a hand to the headstone, her face etched in sorrow as she sighed, “I’m so sorry…” she whispered. She took the candle from the lantern and lit the tiny altar, seeing it as a form of tribute to the lost child, a vigil of sorts. She looked down the rows to see all of them had the same altars. She had a long way to go, and many more tributes to make. 

It broke her heart reading the names and ages of the children on them. Some of them, like little Jeremy Walsh, was only five when he passed, the eldest being Cassidy at age twelve. They were all so young, their lives being snuffed out before they could even begin. It was too much to think about. As she made her way down she whispered out their names, trying to address them to show her respect to the lost life; the life taken way too soon and so horribly.

“Gabriel Flores… Cassidy Burke… Charlotte Emily… Susie Adams.... Fritz Reinhert… Jeremy Walsh….” Her heart broke with every name she said, tears coming to her eyes. There were just so many of them, too many. Her face was solemn and cold, the reality of these deaths, seeing the people behind the stories and what became of them gave her a new perspective of everything.

This felt like this was a punishment of hers for becoming involved in those paranormal groups, a punishment for the sensationalizing she had become a part of, and the lives she had trivialized for stories. Since she was a teen she had found herself on forums, obsessing over the events of the paranormal activity surrounding this company. The possessions, creepy robots, and the mystery of the person behind it all. It was all just some fantastical story to her before. But not until this week had she thought about the victims and the families behind them. Never did she think she would be among one of those affected, one of those hurt by the death and destruction this company brought.. She knew she deserved to have to come face to face with that. She deserved to feel miserable for that, guilty even.

Vanessa looked over to her right, seeing two more graves she still had yet to light. She sat in front of them, holding her lantern up close to see the names. It was a pair of siblings, a young brother and sister. That wasn’t the odd part, however… she noticed the last name on them, whispering it out in a surprised tone, “Afton…”. She had forgotten the man even had children, forgetting that he was always such a jolly family man before the incidents. The absolute depravity of his actions had distracted her from that reality. But here laid little Evan and Elizabeth, only ages 6 and 10 at death. She hoped the two found peace on the other side, that they never knew of the treacheries committed by William and the effect it had. She knew she would have never been able to handle it herself if she had known such things as a child.

She lit their altars, but heard no chime signalling she had completed the room. The red door on the back wall still was locked tight, unmoving. She then remembered the statue in the middle of it all, the biggest grave site there was, and made her way towards it. There was one more altar on it, one more vigil to light before she could leave. 

It was a beautiful piece to be sure. The marble base consisted of a small fountain full of bright lilies, vines creeping up the sides. The figure in the middle was dressed in a flowing white robe, their arms held out as if they were coming in for a soft embrace. They were approachable, kind even. She looked up further, seeing it’s face covered with a silk shawl, one that was tattered and weather beaten from all this time in the garden. She slowly pulled it from the figure, thinking she needed it for a part of the puzzle, only to be taken aback by its face, or lack of one. 

The entire facial portion of the statue was crumbled off, not a single identifying feature on it. It was blank, devoid of emotion and life. That’s when the realization hit her, a pit in her stomach growing and sickening her. She looked to the plaque near her feet, kneeling down and brushing the fauna away from it.

“Jeremy A. McConner…” she whispered out in a warbling voice. She took a deep breath, her chest and throat tightening as she held back tears. She held her hand on the plaque, feeling a strange sensation run through her arm as she did, as if a connection was running through the two of them. She closed her eyes, bowing her head, as she processed how she felt. She was so caught up in this strange world she had almost forgotten what her own reality was, and selfishly hoped she truly would have forgotten. It was just too much to handle, too much to confront all at once. She just wanted things to be normal again.

“What do I do now..?”, She asked, looking up at the statue, “How am I supposed to move on now, how are we supposed to live now that you’re gone?” She looked on longingly, begging for some kid of response, one she knew she wouldn’t get.

She took a shuddery breath, sniffling as she wiped away tears, “It was never supposed to be like this… We could have been so happy, all of us. We could just be working together, going to parties, loving life all together. But we can’t now… Nora is just destroyed… Mikhail’s dealing with this his own way, James is having a hard time…” she stopped for a moment, “And Lori… She’s in shambles, Jeremy. I haven’t seen her so upset in my life… I wish you were here… I wish I never had to see her like that…'' 

“I’m sure Gregory misses you two… I hope he’s handling this well…” She sighed, cleaning off the plaque some more, “And…. and I wish I had listened to you sooner… I wish I had believed you.” her eyes became dull, an empty, hollow feeling flooding her, “This is all my fault, Jeremy… I could have helped you, gotten rid of Malhare… But I didn’t” she looked up at the statue, guilt riddling her face, “I hope you can forgive me…”

There was no response, just the sound of running water and the lilies brushing against the side of the pool. No one was there to comfort her, to tell her it would all be okay now. Statues didn’t talk, and neither did the dead. Vanessa almost felt silly for talking to it, knowing that it wasn’t him. But still, it gave her comfort. It made her feel like she still had him there, like she could still be with him in spirit. That was something she appreciated greatly.

“I miss you so much, Jeremy… I promise I’ll keep Gregory safe… and I’ll get rid of Malhare. For you.” she said resolutely, her brows furrowed, “He’s never going to hurt anyone again.”

Silently, she lit the altar with her candle, remaining unmoved even as she heard the door chime. But now, she didn’t care about the next room. She couldn’t get herself to move on, unable to stand and leave the grave site. She simply kneeled there, her arms propped up on the pool's edge as she thought of her dear friend. Her reflection shone and glimmered in the water, showing off the absolute sorrow she was feeling, her face riddled with harrowing despair. The brightness of the golden glow couldn’t even begin to cover up how she felt.

Suddenly, an echoing noise came from the archway behind her, those familiar screeching noises from the room before grew closer and closer. She jumped up, straightening her back as she looked towards the archway. The creatures must have broken the door down to get to her, leaving her without much time left to stay here. As much as she wanted to stay, she couldn’t any longer. She stood quickly, grasping the lantern tightly as she gave the grave one last look, “Goodbye…” she whispered, running off to the next room as she cried.

Vanessa slammed the door behind her, wiping her face as she took a deep, shuddery breath. The creatures had just missed her, unable to find her now. That, she was grateful for. Vanessa began looking intently at her surroundings in this new room, trying to figure out the objective here. It was much like the first one, but much, much tinier than before. And now, there was only a single altar standing in the middle of the room. It was gilded and ornately decorated, an absolutely beautiful piece of work. She smiled weakly, knowing what something like this usually meant in a game. This was the final room, the last objective before she could leave, before she could go home. She wiped the tears from her eyes, looking down at her golden lantern and smiling, “Thanks for your help…” she felt a little silly for talking to the lantern, but knew she couldn’t have gotten this far without it. It deserved some recognition. 

She took the candle, now tiny and dwindling down from the sheer amount of time it had been lit, and dropped it into the altar’s basin, watching the oil catch fire immediately. She smiled down at the flame, looking up to try and find a door only to see a ghastly sight. Her heart nearly stopped, a scream coming from her throat, as she came face to face with an abhorrent monster. It towered over her, three times her height at least. It was made of tar like the other room’s demons, bright, soulless eyes and a crooked purple smile upon its face. Two bunny ears protruded above its head, dripping as if they were melting. The whole body looked as if it were melting as well, as Vanessa could make out other, tinier figures emerging from its sides, merged with the larger one. She backed up towards the door, eyes wide, as it slowly drew closer to her, a high pitched screech coming from its core. 

She held her hands over her ears, watching in horror as the tar filled up the room, lapping at her ankles and extinguishing the altar. She could hear the creatures behind the door crying out to her, the wood breaking as they began to burst through, clawing at her face and arms. The noise grew too loud, her ears throbbing as the creatures screamed and screamed. Vanessa cried out as they overtook her, leaving her in a silent black void, floating alone with no exit in sight. There was a deafening silence, no one or thing to be seen. Suddenly a pair of bright white eyes appeared, shining down on her with the intensity of the sun. A crooked, smiling mouth opened slowly, a bellowing voice screaming out into the void. 

“LET ME OUT”


	3. My Reluctant Follower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally uniting with Vanessa, the stage is now being set for Malhare and his Reluctant Follower to follow through with his plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW For slight body horror

The front door slammed open, Vanessa stumbling into the living room in a daze. She felt exhausted after dealing with that event, completely drained from it all. After finding that strange creature she woke right back up in the testing room, still sitting in her chair as if nothing around her had changed. She had left work immediately after that had happened, faking some data logs to cover up what had truly occurred. 

What an odd encounter that was... She was completely out of it, feeling numb to her surroundings. These past two weeks had been absolute Hell, and that event sure didn’t help anything. The breakup with Ezra, Jeremy’s death, and the incidents at work- it was all too much for her to deal with. Far too much all at one time. She laid down on the couch, holding a pillow close to her chest as she ruminated on it all. It gave her just a bit of comfort, something to hold onto as she thought about it all. It was something she needed after all of this. She was especially hung up on what that monster had said to her. That line, she knew it was important somehow, she knew she had heard it somewhere, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. She hoped she could figure it out, that she would know what it meant. ‘Let me out’.... What did it mean? Who even said it?

She grumbled as she dug through her pocket, trying to find her phone. The ordeal reminded her that she needed to call Nora, see if she had any run-ins with Malhare at all. She was both relieved and unnerved that she hadn’t seen him in that castle, thankful that she seemingly wasn’t a target of his. Jeremy told her the creature confronted her directly, showing itself to him up front. She hadn’t seen anything of the sort. Yet, she was scared about what that could mean for Nora. If it was with her, there was a chance yet another one of her friends was harmed by the monster's influence, a chance she wasn’t willing to take. She dialed her number, drumming her nails on her crossed arms impatiently as the dial tone played. The feeling of anxiety within her grew as she thought about Nora. She hoped she was okay… She needed her to be okay.

There was a bit of silence after the call picked up, but a soft voice rang out from the other end soon enough, “Vanessa….? What is it..?” Nora sounded absolutely drained and exhausted, her normally vibrant and sweet voice now monotone. Vanessa couldn’t blame her for sounding that way. She had been through such a horrible and turbulent time, just one thing after another with little sympathy thrown her way from those who should have been there for her. Vanessa spoke carefully and softly, “I was just wondering how you were doing… Mikhail told me what he did and I got worried about you… especially after everything that happened…”

She heard a sigh from the other end, “I don’t know, I’m just trying to get myself together after all of this… Going back there was really hard and I never want to go again.” she paused for a moment, “ I might even move out of town, just to distance myself from there. I never want to see anything dealing with Fazbear Ent. again… I hated being there...” she lamented. Nora laid back against her bed, holding a pillow close to her chest for comfort, “Besides all of that, beta testing was… weird… There was some freaky looking character I haven’t seen before. Nothing that we ever made, at least.”

Vanessa felt her heart jump. She sat up quickly, her body tensing in fear, “W-what did it look like, Nora?” she asked cautiously.

Nora suddenly sounded very serious, catching on that this character may be important to Vanessa, “It was some strange, yellow rabbit… Not like Springtrap or anything, it looked like someone in a costume. He just kept staring at me with this shit eating grin, waving at me like he was mocking me. I didn’t really know what was up with him for a while, but-”

Vanessa felt herself begin to panic, cutting her off, “Nora, did he confront you? Did he try to talk to you, merge with you?” she felt faint even asking this, worried so much for Nora. She couldn’t have a repeat of what happened to Jeremy, she couldn’t lose another friend to Malhare. Just knowing Nora saw him terrified her.

Nora’s face twisted in confusion, “What? No… But what I was saying is I think I know what he was now, why he was there… I studied him, studied his actions and code to find out what was going on... I think he’s that virus that got released in the game… And I think I know how to get rid of him now.” 

Nora looked to the side, feeling nervous as she even talked about it. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew it was dangerous, and it worried her, “ I tried to destroy it by breaking it into pieces, scattering it’s code, but that didn’t work. It was still there, still able to interact with me. So I made up a plan for the new testers to help them get rid of it.”

Vanessa furrowed her brow, “How did you figure it out? What did you do?” 

“I left tape logs hidden throughout the levels for beta testers, in areas I thought they could only find. They’re not in normal places a player would think to look in.” Nora took a shuddery breath, “I-I explained why Silver Parasols left development… what happened to Jeremy and everything that was going on. After coming across that creature I couldn’t shake the feeling he somehow had something to do with what happened. There was just… an aura about him. I can’t explain it or prove it, but I just know he has something to do with Jeremy…After word got around about those nightmares and hallucinations he was having, I just knew that creature was what he was talking about… It has to be him.” 

She shook her head sighing, “Sorry for rambling, I-I know that didn’t make much sense… But onto what I did. I know the creature wants to leave the system… he wants to leave through somebody, to become a part of them. I checked the way the character was coded and I kept watching his behaviors… He needs to be attached to something at all times to thrive, and based on how he interacts with people playing, it seems to be the case... So I made a system for the new employees to use- I’m going to have the person find the tapes, listen to them all. Uniting them will draw him closer to the tester, allowing a ‘merge’ process, as you called it, to start. Then they flip a switch that flushes the system, destroying the virus in the middle of the process. It should kill it… I hope it does.”

Vanessa wasn’t sure how she felt about the method Nora wanted to use. It was far too dangerous, allowing Malhare to get too close to a person before they killed him off. If any little thing went wrong it could be a disaster, letting him back into the world through another person. But it seemed to be their only hope, only chance now to get rid of him. Anything that could kill that demon was good enough. That gave her some relief after everything that had happened these past two weeks. She spoke softly, “If that works, then I hope those testers find them… they need to get rid of it.” she stopped for a moment, biting her lip, “But Nora, you’re SURE he didn’t approach you, right? Didn’t attempt the merge with YOU?”

Nora shook her head, “No… he kinda just stood there and watched. I don’t think he was really interested in me…” she mused.

A ghastly grinning face popped up from behind the couch, looming over top of Vanessa in a gangly position, his face twisted into an unnatural and disgusting expression, “But I sure am interested in you, my dear!”

Vanessa dropped her phone, the call dropping, as she screamed. Nora looked down at her phone in confusion, shaking her head and drifting back off to sleep, assuming she had just lost connection. Vanessa scurried from the couch, backing up against the wall, breathing quickly and heavily as Malhare drew closer, finally revealing himself in his true form, “I don’t think the two of us need an introduction, am I correct? I believe we have talked before, after all.” He held his arms out theatrically, taking a bow, “But, it is always nice to say hello again!”

Vanessa grabbed a heel by her side and chucked it at him, watching the shoe phase right through his body, “You get the hell away from me!” she cried, her voice warbling. Malhare simply pranced forward getting close into Vanessa’s personal space. She kicked at him furiously as he drew closer, panicking as every movement simply phased through him, unable to hurt him. Malhare tsked, shaking his head, “Now now, no need to be rude, my dear! I was just trying to say hello…” 

He looked at her quizzically, taking in all of her features, being able to get a clearer look of her now. Something different caught his eye, something interesting. Vanessa flinched as he drew his hand closer, picking up a lock of her hair and running his fingers through it, “This is new… rainbow streaks, how interesting…” he mused. He pulled his hand away and gave her a smug look, “Now when did we change that?” He sounded awfully friendly, as if nothing bad had happened at all.

Vanessa’s face was red and hot, tears stinging in her eyes. She was terrified and angry, her heart beating fast as the demon drew closer and closer. Nothing that happened, nothing Jeremy had told her could have prepared her for this, for seeing him in person. She couldn’t begin to describe how scared she was. His giant purple eyes, the crooked and stilted expressions- it was something out of her worst nightmares. She just wanted him to go away.

Malhare tilted his head, looking down at her with a condescending expression. He wiped a tear away, Vanessa wincing as the coarse fur scraped against her eye, “Oh dear…. Poor, pathetic Vanessa, there’s no use in crying… It didn’t fare your friend well and it won’t help you either...”

Vanessa shrunk back, holding her knees tight to her chest. She stared down the creature, her eyes boring into his, “W-what do you want with me? What are you doing?” she demanded, “I-I don’t have anything you want!”

Malhare chuckled deviously, “Jeremy may have had a child, a perfect source of remnant, but he was difficult to deal with, and I realized it quickly. He became more of a hassle than a resource towards the end... But you, my dear Vanessa, are wrong with that little statement. You alone have everything I could ever want.”

“And what is that…?”

Malhare grinned wildly, “Connections and skills, my dear! Everything about you makes my plans so much easier to follow through with!” he held up three fingers, “Let’s see… you have a connection to a remnant source, a job with my wonderful creation of a company, and you are a seamstress, yes?”

Vanessa was confused, “What does any of this have to do with you? What are you planning?”   
  


Malhare sighed in a grumbly and annoyed tone, “Now, I have neither the time or patience to explain everything to you, so you’ll get the cliffnotes... “ He looked as if he were reminiscing, “ My son, the dearest beam of sunshine in my life, was stolen from me many years ago… I started the remnant experiments to find a way to bring him back to life, to let him live alongside me once more,” he sighed as he motioned to himself, “As you can see, things have gotten quite out of hand…” he grumbled, “But with your help, I will be able to bring him back, to let him live again and get the life he deserved. You will serve a high purpose and will be handsomely rewarded!” his eyes lowered, a haunting grin on his face as he grabbed her hands, “Now is that… enticing, my dear?”

Vanessa yanked herself away, terrified and angry, “And what if I say no? After everything you did, to my friends, family, and this town, you think I’m going to listen to you?” she scowled, “You’re a sick piece of shit…” 

Malhare chuckled grimly, “You could say no to me, but then again…” he trailed off, grabbing either side of his face and yanking it off, an ugly, wet sound emanating from it. Vanessa nearly threw up, watching black sludge trail down the empty void it left in his face, falling onto her floor like blood, “I’m sure you remember how that ended for dear Jeremy, do you?” he asked, a mocking tone in his voice. 

Vanessa felt herself hyperventilating, the memories flooding back, the feeling of that moment, the terror of it all crashing down on her. She curled up, crying softly, refusing to look at Malhare any longer, “S-so it was you… You’re the one that made him-” she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

Malhare chuckled, slipping his face back on, “Of course! Oh, that was one interesting night… He tried to get rid of me, he truly did. He drove his car off into that ditch to kill the pair of us off, but it didn’t go as planned and I was a little too stubborn.... I pulled us out of that ditch and brought him to that office. Oh, we fought and fought against each other, but I prevailed! I couldn’t let him go without a punishment for defying me, however, so I decided he needed a little...readjustment to his face.” 

He took pleasure in seeing her distraught face, always taking glee in the harm of others, “You blame yourself… don’t you?” he chuckled in a low tone, “You should… I was there when he cried out to you, begged for help. But what did you do? You said he was hallucinating, dreaming it all up.” he tilted his head, looking at her with a wicked expression, “And now where is your friend? Laying in some morgue, cold and dead… And it’s all your fault!” he giggled in an awful tone.

Vanessa shook her head, holding herself tight as she cried, “No… I didn’t know…. And you were the one who did this! You were the one who hurt him!” 

“But none of this had to happen, my dear… if he had just cooperated, or if you had helped him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we? I wouldn’t be here talking to you…”

Vanessa shook her head in disbelief, “Why did it have to be any of us..? Why couldn’t you have chosen anyone else?” she sobbed, “I hate this… I just want to be normal…” 

Malhare lifted her face, squeezing it roughly as he forced her to look at him, “When this is all over, you will be. Once you give me what I want, I will leave you to your own devices and you won’t need to worry about me ever again.”

  
Vanessa lowered her gaze, refusing to look him in the eye, “I want you to leave now… “

Malhare tsked, “But you know that I won’t, don’t you? The quickest way for this all to end is to do the three things I want.” he thought for a moment, looking off to the side as he searched for the words, “First of all, we need to disguise you in some way. I can’t have you running around out in the open doing my bidding, now can I? I want you to make a costume, one that hides you from the open eye, yet blends in well enough with the company brand...I have a few ideas, but we will discuss them later.”

He smiled softly as if he were thinking of a better time, “And of course, we can’t do this all by ourselves. We need some muscle, some people to stop anyone from getting in our way. Luckily, I think I know where we can get some,” He raised a brow, “That program Fazbear Ent. has now… it’s called the Funtime Service, is it not?” he sighed whimsically, “It’s amazing how far technology has come… I wish I could have done something like that in my prime…. Ah, but that’s besides the point. I believe we can use most of the animatronics, but there’s one specifically that I’m interested in… I don’t believe his coding is finished… His board was the one used to house me all these years, after all. His AI is probably floating aloof in the system somewhere, waiting to be used.. We’ll just need to find it and finish the job.”

“Who are you talking about?” Vanessa asked in an annoyed tone. She shook her head, trying to block out the nasally, accented voice of the rabbit. Her mind raced with every negative thought- fear, anger, and guilt rushing to her mind all at once. 

Malhare clasped his hands together, looking giddy, “One of my greatest creations! I needed help during the era of remnant, and I made a wonderful set of robots to aid in luring and capturing for my purposes. The most advanced this state has ever seen! But one, however, has everything we would ever need for now. Luring and capturing, voice mimicking, and a wonderful knowledge of the macabre!” he chuckled a bit and sighed, “I think you’ll quite like him… His personality is a bit of, um… an acquired taste, to be sure, but you’ll grow to tolerate it quickly. It’s just the volume that gets a bit frustrating. I hope you don’t mind your ears ringing!” 

Vanessa rolled her eyes as the rabbit giggled grimly. Malhare sighed, “Ah, and then one last thing… We need to find my devices! I had quite the elaborate lab set up for it, one that helped cultivate and maintain the energy source. Remnant is a very picky material, after all. It needs special temperatures and containments to stay active. Hopefully all the necessities are still around… I believe the company still has them stored somewhere. From the time I spent in the system I went straight to work, pouring through every email and file I could. Supposedly, much of it is still intact, hidden in some facility of the company’s… I believe only what they’re referring to as the “Pizzaplex” would be able to hold it…” he cackled, “And what luck! You’re an employee there, are you not? We would have easy access to that building, you and I! What fun!” he exclaimed. 

“I’m sorry. I may work there, but I’m only allowed in certain areas. I’m certain they’re keeping something like that far out of my reach.” She said resolutely. She looked away, knowing that it was obvious that she was lying just by looking at her face. As a guard she knew that she had full range of the building, but any roadblock in Malhare’s plan was good for her. She just needed to hold him off long enough to figure out how to get rid of him now. 

“Ugh… pity… Well, we’ll just need to find a way down there then. I’ll figure it out at some point. But lets start on what we can do!” he looked around the room, down the hall, and back to Vanessa, “Where do you keep your supplies, my dear?”

Vanessa raised a brow, “Supplies?”

“Yes, supplies! You mentioned before that you were a seamstress… I assume someone who has such a thing as a hobby has a room or nook for it, yes?”

Malhare was right. Just up the stairs Vanessa had her own little nook, something her mother gave to her as a gift in highschool. It was a small room, housing posters, tapestries, trinkets, and most importantly her supplies. Rolls of fabric, foam, boards, bobbins, and a grand sewing machine took up residence in the room, “Yes… I do. But why do you even want a costume? You could just get some cheap mask somewhere.”

“But where’s the fun and theatrics in that? I would assume a fellow artist would understand the beauty in crafting by hand.” he mused, “Now stand. We have work to do, my dear.”

Vanessa sat still on the floor, looking up at him in disgust. She refused to move a muscle, spiting the demon. Malhare’s grin slowly faded into an angry scowl, “Vanessa are you sure you want to be playing games with me of all people?” 

He grabbed her by the arms lifting her up into the air and holding her against the wall, his paws beginning to bruise her arms from his tight grasp. The world faded to black around them, his eyes glowing a deep purple as they bore into her. A low droning noise emanated around them as he hissed, “You know what I’m capable of… And my patience has run dry. Jeremy used up every last bit of it, and I am THROUGH. If you have any love for life you will show me this room and do as I say. Or you will BURN!” he yelled out.

Vanessa writhed away from him quickly, dropping to the floor and looking up in abject horror, “F-fine… I’ll show you!”

“Excellent decision my dear!” Malhare mused, returning back to a more normal state, “Now let’s get going, I don’t have all day, you know.”

Vanessa stood up and brushed herself out, walking around the creature slowly and carefully, making sure he wasn’t out of her line of sight. She was afraid to lose sight of him, scared of what he may do if she looked away for even just a moment. He walked alongside her up the stairs, quietly to her relief. She motioned towards the first door on the left, “In here.” 

The room was quite cluttered, something Malhare immediately noticed. Vanessa stood in the middle of the room, folding her arms as the creature made his way around, distracted by all of the baubles and oddities. He scanned the walls, looking curiously at all her posters, art, and stickers covering every bit of it. The old, flowery wallpaper was almost completely obscured by it all. He looked to her, holding the ends of two small flags; one the colors of the sunset and one with pastel pink, blue, and white, “What countries are these, love?” he asked, oblivious to their true meanings. Vanessa rolled her eyes, stomping over and ripping them out of his hand, “Neither of those are any of your business. Just stop touching my stuff already!”

Malhare rolled his eyes, looking over to her sewing table. He scurried over to it, picking up a pencil and looking down at her sketchbook. He winced, holding it up in disgust, “These colors are absolutely eyebleeding! Did you choose this on purpose?”

“That’s Lisa Frank, and I happen to like her style.” Vanessa grumbled. 

“I am familiar with her work.... My daughter loved those little stickers and stationary… Nothing special, if you ask me though.” he flipped open the book to an empty page, skipping over countless designs for clothing Vanessa had sketched up, “Now watch here, love. I’ll show you how a REAL artist designs a character.”

She watched as he furiously scribbled down a costume idea, one she didn’t like very much, to say the least. A white, grey, and pink rabbit- with red bulbous eyes and a blue bow standing out amongst the rest of the design. She thought it looked unnerving, though there was something vaguely familiar about it. She watched as he clumsily colored the drawing in, the gears turning in her head as she tried to remember where she had seen it before. The design was oh so familiar, but from where?

The pencil clinked down on the table as Malhare tossed it aside, handing the book to Vanessa with a prideful smile on his face. Vanessa finally had a look of realization, “Isn’t this… Gregory’s doll? Why would you choose that as a reference?”

“We all find inspiration in the strangest of places… And you’ll see soon enough.” he tapped his forehead, “I’m always thinking one step ahead of the rest, you know. There’s always a reason for everything.” He looked down at the drawing and back to the supplies in the room, “I suppose what you have is close enough to work with…. How long do you think it will take to get this finished?”

Vanessa looked down at the book, grasping it tightly as she looked at the design with disdain. She didn’t want to make this, she didn’t want to help him. But it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice at this point, “It could take a long while. This kind of thing takes a lot of-”

“Three days.”

“Excuse me?”

“Three days.” Malhare repeated, “You have exactly three days to finish this costume at the maximum.” he looked to her with a serious expression, “So I suggest you get to work now, dear.” 

“Or what? What happens if I take longer?”

“Are you sure you really want to know?” he asked, a sick and twisted glee in his voice. Vanessa shuddered just looking at the smile on his face, “Fine…” she walked over to her bolts of fabric, scanning for the closest matches. The white and gray tones were the easiest to come across, but she realized she didn’t have much pink left. She hardly ever used the color in her designs, so there was no need for it. The white and red gingham would have to do for now.

She dragged the bolts over to her workspace, grabbing cardboard and foam to help herself make the head of the costume. It wouldn’t be the first time she made a mask like this, which helped give her something to work off of. Malhare watched intently as she began to draw out patterning shapes for the body. A sick and giddy feeling ran through his body, the joy of his plans coming to fruition taking over him. It would only be a matter of time before he could live out his dreams, have the goal he aimed for all these years finally be fulfilled. All the sacrifices he made, all the blood on his hands, the physical and emotional turmoil he sustained all of these years wouldn’t be for naught. 

He closed his eyes, looking upwards and sighing in content. His dreams were finally going to come true now, and he couldn’t wait.

Vanessa worked throughout the night, worrying her mother and brother. The two gently whispered to the other, thinking she may be self isolating after all of these horrible things had happened. Vanessa had always had a unique reaction to grief, usually hiding herself away during those times. Neither could blame her, but it did worry them. A person needed love and support when these things happened. Both knew well that she shouldn’t be dealing with grief alone, but decided to leave her be, knowing she also needed to process this in her own way. They could always try to talk to her again once she was ready.

Tomorrow is another day, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for being patient with me for releases! MPtY is something I'm very excited to write and I couldn't be happier with the reception on my fics so far. Thank you all for staying with me :)


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